“Sickening” hotel stabbing was Facebook comment revenge

Tuesday 09 August 2022

A Doncaster man has been sent to prison for 10-and-a-half years, after specifically flying to Jersey to kill a man he knew over a series of offensive comments posted about him on Facebook.

Liam Carmody’s frenzied stabbing attack outside the Hotel Ambassadeur in March was so “brutal” that an Afghanistan war veteran staying at the hotel who ran to the victim's rescue said it was the “worst act of violence I have ever witnessed”.

The attack left the victim - who had known Carmody for 12 years, with both having previously been in a relationship with the same woman - thinking he was going to die. It put him in hospital for two weeks, and left him with permanent mental and physical scars.

Carmody, who lives in Doncaster, became angered in March when the victim posted a series of malicious comments accusing him of drug use and being convicted of a sexual offence on Facebook, the Royal Court heard during yesterday's sentencing hearing.

Determined to get the comments taken down, Carmody contacted the authorities in the UK, but they said there was nothing they could do.

Pictured: The Court heard that Carmody had been riled by Facebook comments and decided to take revenge.

This made Carmody determined to confront the victim.

“These Facebook posts gave rise to the Defendant’s motive to confront the Victim,” Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit told the Royal Court.

At the time, the victim was working in the island and staying at the Hotel Ambassadeur in St. Clement.

Carmody tracked him down and made his own plans to come to the island.

Just before 17:00 on 24 March, Carmody was caught on CCTV leaving the town hotel where he had booked in, and just after 17:30 he was filmed once again. This time arriving at the Hotel Ambassadeur.

The victim had not come back from work yet and footage from the hotel shows Carmody hanging around in the foyer and looking through the windows into the rear car park, obviously waiting for the victim.

The victim and two other people returned to the hotel at about 18:15. Although his friends went inside, the victim sat down on a bench in the rear car park to have a cigarette.

Pictured: Carmody tracked the victim down to the Ambassadeur in Jersey and stabbed him in the car park using a knife taken from his own hotel.

The CCTV footage then shows Carmody leaving the hotel and threatening the victim with a large knife. The actual attack wasn’t captured on camera because there were none covering that part of the car park.

In what Crown Advocate Maletroit described to the court as a "particularly vicious attack", Carmody repeatedly stabbed the victim.

He inflicted five chest wounds that were four or five inches deep. There would have been more, only the victim managed to roll out of the way or defend himself with his hands and arms. 

Even when the blade became detached from the handle, Carmody continued to punch and kick his victim who was lying defenceless on the ground.

The victim was continually calling for help, and later told police officers he thought he was going to die.

It was only when people came out of the hotel that Carmody stopped his attack and fled.

Pictured: The attack put the victim - who thought he was going to die - in hospital for two weeks.

The Court heard that one witness, a former soldier who had served eight years in the army which includes two tours of Iraq and another in Afghanistan, told police it was "the worst act of violence I have ever witnessed."

"It was a sickening attack, absolutely brutal," he said. "The guy on the floor was rolling around, trying to avoid the blade. Screaming for help and begging the male…to stop."

The hotel receptionist, who did not see the stabbing, but attended shortly afterwards recalled the victim saying “don’t let me die, don’t let me die” as various people were trying to treat his wounds. 

The scene was one of carnage, with blood pouring from the victim.

Defending Carmody in court, Advocate Sarah Dale said her client had never intended to harm the victim. 

She claimed he had taken the knife from the hotel where he was staying "on the spur of the moment".

His intention had only been to use it to intimidate his victim. The attack was a temporary lose of control that was totally out of character, and that he only ran away after panicing when he was covered in blood and he realised the seriousness of the situation, Advocate Dale said.

Pictured: Carmody was sentenced in Jersey's Royal Court yesterday.

Sentencing Carmody for attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon, the Bailiff, Sir Tim Le Cocq, told Carmody it was shame he had not heeded the advice of his sister who had emailed him just before the attack, saying: "You need to stop and think what you are doing."

Commenting after the sentencing the investigating officer from the States of Jersey Police, Detective Inspector Jodie Botterill said: "This was a serious, premeditated offence in which the victim sustained life-changing injuries.

"Today’s sentencing is welcomed and will hopefully provide comfort to the victim as he recovers."